An analysis of RLUSD stablecoin transactions on the XRP Ledger revealed that an overwhelming majority of payment activity over a 30-day period originated from just 110 wallets, raising fresh questions about the underlying nature of RLUSD network adoption.
Concentrated Wallet Activity Drives RLUSD Payment Surge
Research by blockchain analytics firm Bitquery found that between September 19 and October 18, these 110 wallets generated approximately 7.79 million RLUSD payments. This figure accounts for 99.6% of the 7.82 million RLUSD transactions recorded during the period.
Despite the high transaction count, the group of wallets transferred only 7,722 RLUSD in total. On average, each payment equaled just 0.00099 RLUSD, worth about one-tenth of a cent.
Bitquery analysts reported that these wallets repeatedly sent very small RLUSD amounts to three specific recipient addresses, with transactions occurring roughly every 30 seconds. Wallets in the group showed similarities in their funding sources and collection addresses.
Investigators traced some of the cluster’s activities to addresses labeled as Binance wallets, with additional flows passing through a deposit account often used by crypto exchanges. However, Bitquery did not identify any party operating or controlling the wallet cluster, and stated that the data did not confirm involvement by Binance or Ripple.
Researchers calculated that these transactions—including both RLUSD and XRP movements—totaled around 8.6 million, accumulating just 495 XRP in network fees (approximately $648 at the relevant time).
This case highlights how payment counts on public ledgers like XRPL can soar with little increase in actual economic value transferred, making headline transaction volumes a less reliable indicator of network adoption.
Between October 8 and October 14, this cluster was responsible for nearly 45.6% of all XRP Ledger account-to-account payments, regardless of asset. At the peak on September 26, RLUSD activity reached 573,589 payments in a single day, but only 388 of those transferred one RLUSD or more.
Automated activity started to decline on October 14 before effectively stopping by October 16. This drop-off closely aligned with Cross River Bank’s October 15 announcement on RLUSD’s integration into its banking systems. Bitquery indicated that no protocol change or network fee spike explained this decline, leaving the reason for the activity’s end unclear.
This episode brings attention to the distinction between network statistics, such as transaction counts, and the actual economic use of stablecoins on public blockchains.
Large RLUSD Payments Show Institutional Concentration
When excluding payments under one RLUSD, the data shows only 14,600 transactions totaled roughly $7.33 billion during the same 30-day window.
Within these larger transactions, ten wallets accounted for approximately 82% of settlement value. Much of this activity tied to RLUSD minting and redemption by the issuer, highlighting that most value movement involved a handful of institutional-grade wallets rather than broad retail use.
Bitquery noted that this $7.33 billion sum does not reflect unique commercial transactions, since the same funds may be counted more than once in internal transfers or redemption cycles.
As Ripple continues to expand RLUSD services, the firm is increasingly focused on attracting institutional clients and building brokerage settlement solutions—areas where raw transaction volume may not directly measure real economic expansion.
These findings emphasize that wallet concentration and transaction size must be examined together to understand genuine blockchain adoption, particularly as AI-driven payment services and high-frequency automation can obscure real demand.
Analysis of the RLUSD data underscores that while payments require XRP for network fees, a surge in tiny, automated transfers is not necessarily linked to increased XRP demand from investors.
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As Ripple works on new payment partnerships and seeks independent validation of settlement volumes, verified economic flows may prove more meaningful for investors and analysts than overall activity figures alone.
